The History of Martha's Vineyard by Dr. Charles Banks:
Volume III Family Genealogies: pp. 80-87

THE CLAGHORN FAMILY

The derivation of this family name is traced
to Glegerne, a Celtic name given to a camp on the border line of Scotland
by the Romans A.D. 80 during the invasion of England. From this the name
became Cleggerne, Clegherne, Cleghorn, and lastly, Claghorn. The barony
of Cleghorne existed in Scotland in the 12th century and a chapel of Clegerne
was connected with Dryburgh Abbey. The lands connected with the barony were
granted in 1441 to Sir Alan Lockhart of Lanarkshire in whose family the
title remains to the present day.

Claghorn, as a family name, appears in Scottish records as early as 1350
in Edinburgh, Cramond, Lothian and Corstorphine. In the latter named parish
there lived a James Cleghorn who d. 5 June 1588, leaving among others two
sons James and Henry, and the latter was father of three sons and one daughter,
viz: Thomas, David, James and Isobel. James, the youngest son, with his
sister Isobel, was the heir of his older brother, David, in 1647, and is
believed to be the James Claghorn who was brought to New England in 1650
as a prisoner of war during the Scottish Rebellion, following the Battle
of Dunbar. Corstorphine, the home of the Claghorns, was occupied for a year
by the troops of Cromwell and many of its families driven into exile. In
the fall of 1651 about 150 of the Scotch prisoners were sent to New England
for indenture as "slaves or servants" in the ship "Unity".
They were treated as human chattels and classed with Indians and negroes
in the social estimate of the Puritans. They were bound out to the wealthy
classes as household or agricultural helpers.

1. JAMES CLAGHORN,
like all the Scotch prisoners sent to New England, was farmed out and undoubtedly,
his time was sold to Bernard Lombart (Lumbert) of Barnstable sometime bef.
1654. He retaliated on his master by taking his dau. ABIAH LOMBARD to wife
6 Jan. 1653-4. He removed into Yarmouth 1662 and there lived during the
remainder of his life. He was rated at Yarmouth in 1675 for the expenses
of King Philip's War. His wife committed suicide by hanging in Oct. 1677,
having been for sometime mentally afflicted. His will 11 Oct. 1683 was pro.
25 Oct. following and he d. bet. those dates.

15. SHUBAEL CLAGHORN,
(James1) b. abt. 1663; res. Barnstable, yeoman. He m. JANE LOVELL,
dau. of John and Jane (Hatch) Lovell of B. who was b. 28 July 1670. His
will 5 Sept. 1725 is the proximate time of his death. The inventory of his
est. amounted to £877-8-7. His wid. married John Bumpas of Rochester.
His descendants are the only ones of this family to take up permanent residence
on the Vineyard and for that reason other contemporary branches will be
omitted from this genealogy.

40. JAMES CLAGHORN,
(Shubael,2 James1), b. Aug. 1689; res. Barnstable, innkeeper; rem.
to E., abt. 1715. He was the first of the name to settle permanently on
the island. He m. MERCY NORTON (40) 30
Dec. 1715 [in Edgartown], who was b. 1687 and d. 1762 [in Edgartown.] He
made his first purchase of land 26 July 1717 and res. on this property on
North Water St. Here he kept a public house, 1740-48. He suffered from mental
disorder from 1745 until his death 18 Jan. 1749-50 [in Edgartown.] [He is buried in Tower Hill Cemetery.]

42. THOMAS CLAGHORN,
(Shubael,2 James1), b. 20 Mch. 1692-3, res. E. (Eastville), innholder.
He came to E. from Barnstable and bought a lot on the "Line" in
1721, his first recorded appearance. He m. (1) ABIAH SMITH (356) abt. 1721,
who was b. June 1699 and d. 10 Feb. 1730 [in Edgartown] [She
is buried at Tower Hill Cemetery.] ; m. (2) SUSANNAH GIBBS dau. of Barnabas
Gibbs of Sandwich 2 Nov. 1732, who was b. 28 Sept. 1712 and d. Nov. 1786
[in Edgartown, of "pul: fever."] He d. Feb. 1784 [in Edgartown,
of old age, called "of Holmes Hole."]. His will 23 Feb. 1774 was
pro. 28 Apr. 1785. He had been an innholder for fifty-three years in the
old Linton House at Eastville.

80. BENJAMIN CLAGHORN,
(Thomas,3 Shubael,2 James1), b. 1722, res, E. pilot. He m. KATHERINE
BLACKWELL of Rochester 27 Feb. 1746, who was b. 16 Aug. 1725 and d. 1 Jan.
1804 [in Tisbury. She is buried at Crossways
Cemetery.] He was drowned 9 June 1759 with his son Samuel in Vineyard
Sound. Adm. of his est. was granted to his wid. 19 July 1759 and inventory
of the property amounted to £295-12-2. He was adm. to the church 1741
and was prominent in its affairs. After his death the wid. and children
rem. to Rochester, but they returned and d. here. He lived in the present
town of Oak Bluffs.

84. WILLIAM CLAGHORN,
(Thomas,3 Shubael,2 James1), b. abt. 1733; res. E., merchant and
master-mariner. He m. THANKFUL DEXTER 11 Nov. 1756 [in Edgartown], who was
b. 1738 [in Falmouth] and d. 19 Aug. 1795 [in New Bedford.] He was of the
Militia Co. in E. 1757 and rem. to New Bedford 1767 where he spent the remainder
of his active life as an enterprising owner and master of merchant vessels
which sailed all waters of the globe. He died suddenly in Boston 24 Feb.
1793 and is buried in the Granary Cemetery. An elegy written in his memory
and published for circulation among his friends has been credited to Theophilus
Mayhew, a native of Chilmark, as author. [Joe Eddleman <JOEEDDLEMAN@charleston.net>
notes that "Thankful Dexter was bedridden the last 20 years of her
life." She is buried in Acushnet Cemetery, Dartmouth. Contact Joe for
more information on this family.] Children:

90. JOHN CLAGHORN,
(Thomas,3 Shubael,2 James1), b. abt. 1746; res. E, mariner. He m.
LYDIA WEST (115) 7 Feb. 1770 [in Tisbury],
who was b. 29 Aug. 1747 and d. 31 Dec. 1770 [in Tisbury] in childbirth.
He d. at sea bef. 10 Jan. 1771 as adm. of his estate was granted to Isaac
Daggett and Cornelius Norton on that date. "A whale killed him"
as stated on his gravestone. Adm. of his wife's estate was granted to her
father, Dr. Elisha West 4 Feb. 1771 and he was made guardian of her infant
daughter.

200. LYDIA WEST, b. Dec. 1770; m. THOMAS WHITTRIDGE
9 Oct. 1790.

100. SHUBAEL CLAGHORN,
(Shubael,3-2 James1), b. abt. 1725; res. C., mariner. He m. MARTHA HILLMAN (62) 7 Jan. 1748 [in Chilmark],
who was b. abt. 1728. He sold his property in C. 1772 and rem. to North
Carolina with his brothers (103, 104, 106). He served in the Revolutionary
War in various capacities after his removal to that state.

108. GEORGE CLAGHORN,
(Shubael,3-2 James1), b. 6 July l748; res. C., shipwright. He m.
DEBORAH BROWNELL 20 Dec. 1769 [in Dartmouth], dau. of Jeremiah and Deborah
(Burgess) Brownell of Dartmouth. He rem. to Dartmouth, prob. at the time
of his marriage. He served in the Revolution and held the rank of Colonel
in the militia. His most famous product was the U.S.S. Constitution
which he built for the Government in Boston. He d. 5 Feb. 1824 at Seekonk,
R. I. [Judy
<Jabg@aol.com> writes, "The Deborah Brownell that is constantly
said to be the daughter of Jeremiah and Deborah (Burgess) Brownell was b.
8 April 1721. That would make her 27 years older than George. Their first
child was b. @ 1771 which would make her 50. I have the last child Lydia
b. Feb 1791 which would make Deborah 70 years old. I have investigated and
found that another child of Jeremiah and Deborah, David, married Grace Church.
They had a daughter, Deborah b. 8 Oct 1749 (certainly closer in age to George).
I can't find a record of the daughter after her birth that connects her
to her parents. If you notice, George and Deborah had a daughter, Grace
b. 1782, which leads me to think that Deborah is really the granddaughter
of Jeremiah and Deborah. Any thoughts?"]